Dawn of Hope
by DragonScouter
Summary: Four Dragon Scouters, alone and with no contact with others of their team, trace a strong energy signal to a small planet called Earth. What they find when they arrive surprises them greatly. Now they must locate the scattered Autobots and help them fight before all hope is lost. Rated just to be safe.
1. A Solemn Welcome

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Authoress: Tehehe. New story. That means new bots to have fun with. *sits and waits for show to begin***

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**AN: This starts right after season two ends.**

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Ch. 1: A Solemn Welcome

"Nox, are we close to the origin?" A black and dark blue jet mech with white optics asked.

The bot he was talking to turned to him and said in a femme voice, "You ask me that again Equio and I will put you in stasis lock until we get there."

Their optics met with each other before Equio sighed and said, "Fine. I still can't believe we picked up that strong of a signal."

Nox nodded and said, "It is a good thing that we found it. Our medical supplies are low and I know that one of us will get seriously injured sooner rather than later."

Equio gave her a fake hurt look before saying, "You're not suggesting something; are you my dear twin?"

Nox smirked and said, "You tell me oh twin brother of mine."

The two of them then stared at each other for a click before the fell to the ground, laughing their afts off. Equio and Nox were identical in everything but there gender. There genders were the only way that other bots were able to tell them apart.

Once the two of them calmed down a little, Equio asked, "Hey Nox, do you think that we will find other Dragon Scouters on the planet?"

Nox silently thought about that for a nano-click before saying, "I doubt it Equio. It is in the opposite direction that most of our bots said they were fleeing to. But they may have changed plans or one of the loners could be there."

"Hey, you two having a party without us?"

Nox and Equio turned to the door and saw the white car mech and blue car femme that they had been traveling with walk in. the mech was about a helm taller than the femme. The femme had bold yell and she had two wheels on the back of her shoulders and a wheel on the back of each thigh. The mech had bold purple optics and had two wheels on the back of his shoulder and a wheel on the back of each calf.

Nox knew that the femme, Aquablast, was waiting for an answer so she smirked and said, "Just getting ready. You two want in?"

The two new arrivals nodded before sitting with the twins.

"You ready for us to arrive Whiteout?" Equio asked.

Whiteout, the mech, nodded before saying, "Yes, and I hope that we don't run into any trouble. I am starting to get tired of fixing your afts from unnecessary injuries."

Nox smiled and said, "We will try Whiteout, but we don't know what we are going to find when we get to the planet."

Aquablast nodded before adding, 'Yeah, there could be Autobots, Decepticons, and/or Virons there so we have to be prepared for anything."

The three others nodded and took their seats when a beeping sound came from a monitor. Aquablast, the team scout, typed some things into her console before saying, "We are about to enter Earth, the planet's, orbit. Be prepared for a rough landing."

The others nodded before they all put on their seat belts. Their ship, the Selchon, shook violently as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Warning alarms started to blare and Whiteout typed a few things out before saying, "Cloaking shields still stable. We will be landing in five clicks."

When the ship suddenly dropped straight own, the crew cried out and it took a click for the ship to become stable again.

"What the frag was that?" Nox asked in a panicked voice.

"Oops." Equio sheepishly stated.

"'Oops'? What do you mean; Oops?" Aquablast asked with a shriek.

"Got caught up in staring at that giant tower that absolutely does not look welcoming." Equio answered before pointing out the window. The four of them then stared out of the window at the domineering tower in their vision.

"That does not look good." Nox whispered.

They all then snapped out of their zone out and saw what looked like a crash site and farther away they saw rubble of something that was smoking.

"Looks like there has been a fight here. Let's fly over and see if we can tell what was there." Nox stated.

The others nodded and Equio guided the ship so they would fly over the rubble. All of them gasped when they saw the strikingly familiar symbol.

"Autobots." Whiteout whispered.

"Hurry and land somewhere safe." Nox started. "We need to search for any survivors. Since that building was an Autobot base, the tall tower over there is most likely a Decepticon base. Whiteout, you will go investigate the Autobot base and try to find something."

Whiteout nodded and said, "Of course."

Nox then pointed to Aquablast and said, "Aquablast, I want you to travel east and try to find any 'Bots that might not have been at base."

Aquablast nodded and said, "Sure thing. It will feel good to explore this planet some."

"Equio, I want you to stay on the ship just in case any of use needs backup." Nox finished.

"What are you going to do Nox?" Equio asked.

"I'm going to go investigate that crash site. If there are any bots there, I want to help them." Nox answered.

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the ship leveled out and flew into a cave that was in front of it. Once the ship was completely landed and the engines were off, they all searched the local information hub, called the internet, and scanned suitable modes. Aquablast and Whiteout scanned different kinds of sports cars that suited them while Nox and Equio scanned pretty much the same exact jet, except Nox's was slightly smaller than Equio's.

Nox then turned to them all and said, "Ok, you know your assignments. Let's go find some Autobots."

The three who were heading out then ran down the gangplank and outside before they each transformed and started off toward their designated areas. From the cave's entrance, Equio watched as they all disappeared. Once they were gone from sight, Equio whispered, "Good luck and may Primus be with you." He then turned and walked back toward the ship, his spark full of worry for his team mates; especially his twin.

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Nothing could draw the worry out of Whiteout's processor as he drove toward the ruins of what they had assumed was the Autobot base. What kind of horrors would he find when he arrived? Would there be any survivors? Since he joined the Dragon Scouters during the middle of the war, he had seen many types of injuries from many different circumstances. But, the damage to the base was some of the most damaging that he had seen.

"Frag why didn't we track that message?" Whiteout muttered to himself.

Soon after their group of four had left Cybertron, they had intercepted a coded Autobot frequency and, while Equio was adept at being an intelligence officer, he could not un-code it much except to know that Optimus Prime had sent it from a distant galaxy. They had all agreed to try and contact Pandimala to ask her what they should do but they had not been able to get through to her.

The four of them had wondered around space for so long that he had lost track of the solar cycles. But, the previous solar cycle, they had detected a large burst of energy that came from Cybertron and Equio traced it to the planet they were on now.

Coming to a stop, Whiteout transformed and started to walk through the debris, lifting what he could to try and find some trace of somebot. From the wreckage, he could see that the building that had once been had been medium in size, probably capable of fitting eleven or twelve bots comfortably. Unless, of course, the building had a basement.

At that thought, Whiteout started to look around for some sort of access hatch, something to get him to a lower level if there was one.

"Come on. If you bots knew there were 'Cons here on Earth, I know you would have constructed some sort of underground complex. Now, where would you hide the entrance?" Whiteout muttered to himself. All he could see were steel support beams and rubble which made his search that much more difficult.

Stepping onto a large support beam and starting up, Whiteout stepped as close to the edge as he dared to see if he could find any hint of a way to any underground bunker. A reflection of something caught his attention so he stepped backward, effectively climbing higher, to see if he could identify what it was.

A large cracking sound reverberating through the air caused Whiteout's systems to freeze.

"Oh scrap." Whiteout stated.

Almost as soon as he said that, the beam he was standing on snapped and he fell with his back to the ground. Whiteout winced when he landed as pain traveled through his chassis. He knew that he would be feeling that fall for some time.

A click below him confused him until the floor next to him suddenly formed stairs that seemed to spiral deep into the ground below. Knowing that he had to take the risk, Whiteout began his descent into the lower levels. Once he stepped off of the last step, Whiteout jumped when the stairs behind him snapped upward, sealing him inside. He figured that the steps were pressure stable and, once the extra pressure was off, it returned to its normal state.

"Ok, so where would you bots be hiding?" Whiteout asked himself.

Knowing that he wouldn't be getting any answers by standing around, he began to search the many halls and rooms that were in the bunker. After about forty clicks of searching, Whiteout was about to go double check the rooms again when he heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. Curious, he quietly walked toward the source.

Barely peeking his helm in the doorway, Whiteout was surprised to see a white racecar mech with thirty eights on his chassis digging around.

Whiteout was about to step out and introduce himself when the mech said to himself, "Come on, this is the only room I haven't checked. There has to be some medical supplies somewhere."

Right away, Whiteout could tell that the mech was a young bot and that he was extremely worried. Whiteout also knew that somebot close to the young mech must be injured. But, Whiteout was now curious about where the injured bot was, since he was pretty sure that he himself had searched all of the other rooms.

But, his optics then fell onto the device attached to the mech's wrist and it made sense. The bot had somehow gotten his servos on a phase shifter.

Whiteout now knew that he had to make sure the bot unknowingly led him to his injured friend. He didn't want to risk the mech bolting if he made himself known. So, he carefully followed the mech when he left and tracked him until he was in the last room on the same side as the one he had found the mech, who he could now see was an Autobot.

The mech paused in front of the stone wall and muttered, "I'm not going to let you go offline."

Now Whiteout was sure that his help was needed. So, as soon as the mech reached to activate the shifter, Whiteout charged into the room and ran into the mech, activating the shifter before they both went through the wall.

"Hey, servos off the gear!" The mech yelled at him.

Once they were in a strange cavernous passage, Whiteout said, "Swear on whoever your injured friend is that you will stay and hear me out when I let you go." The mech just stared at him with mistrust so Whiteout added, almost pleaded, "Please!"

The mech stared at him for a few more clicks before saying, "Fine."

Whiteout nodded and let go of the mech before stepping back.

"Who are you?" The mech asked, well more demanded.

"My name is Whiteout and I heard you, while you were in the other room, muttering about needing some medical supplies. I am a medic for the Dragon Scouters and I wish to help whoever it is that is injured. Who are you?"

The Autobot stared at him for a click before he said, "The name's Smokescreen. You say that you're a medic?"

Whiteout nodded and said, "Yes."

Smokescreen seemed to debate something for a click before nodding and saying, "Fine, but I will be watching you."

Whiteout nodded and followed Smokescreen down the passage. After about three clicks of walking, they turned a corner and Whiteout gasped at who the injured Cybertronian was.

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Aquablast cursed to herself when another rock slammed into her side. About five clicks after she had left the ship, she had picked up on a faint energon signal. It was now forty clicks later and she had still been unable to locate the source of the signal. Every time she would think that she was close to the location, the signal would weaken again. She felt like she was driving in circles and that her search was pointless. But yet again, the signal began to get stronger.

"If this is another dead end…" Aquablast muttered to herself as she turned around yet again.

Back during the major fighting on Cybertron, she had been trained by the Dragon Scouter's head scout, Zarron, and she had always been able to track her target. But none of her training had prepared her for this. She had tracked members of all factions as well as energon signals. Right then, she was wishing that her mentor was there to help her.

A loud and obnoxious honking sound coming from behind her had her using her rear view mirror to see who was behind her. To her surprise, it was an ambulance and its honking was increasing in loudness and length.

"Hey, turn it off you maniac!" Aqua yelled at the ambulance in her head.

She couldn't say anything out loud because she didn't want to blow her cover. Her temper rose even more when the ambulance started to ride her tail.

"Get off my aft you idiot!" Aquablast again mentally yelled.

After about five clicks, the ambulance hadn't backed off and Aquablast was about to break check the imbecile when she remembered Whiteout's plea for them not to take any unnecessary damage. Plus, she really didn't want her finish damaged yet so Aqua veered into the left lane to let the ambulance pass.

As it did, Aqua took a quick scan of it and, at first, nothing seemed to be weird. Once it passed, Aqua suddenly realized that there was only Jasper that was nearby and it was abandoned. Why was there and ambulance out here in a hurry then? It was then that the images of the scan processed and she realized that she had almost missed something important. Putting the petal to the metal, Aqua tore down the highway after the ambulance.

"Frag it all why didn't I realize it sooner!" Aquablast berated herself.

The ambulance hadn't had a driver. That meant that it was another bot.

"I finally find another bot and I almost let them go on. I am really rusty at this." She berated herself, again.

After about three clicks of driving, Aquablast had to slow down when she caught sight of the ambulance. She didn't want the bot to know that she was following him or her. Aqua was surprised when they passed underneath a stone arch. What was so important out here that the bot would be so reckless while driving?

Aquablast slowed to an almost crawl when she heard the ambulance stop. Quickly turning off her engine, she heard the bot transform. Transforming a few nano-clicks later, Aqua peeked around the corner and watched the mech walk into an old, wrecked ship. Once the mech disappeared, she walked toward the ship.

"What are you doing here?" Aqua whispered in a question.

From the feedback she was receiving, Aqua could tell that the ship was an ancient Decepticon one. Once she entered the ship, Aqua was surprised to hear two mech voices, one using the normal language and the other speaking a beeping form of talk.

As she walked down the hallway, the voices grew closer and closer. When she was sure that she had arrived at the door to the room the mechs were in, she carefully peeked in and saw the ambulance mech standing at a console with a black sports car mech with yellow stripes.

"We need to rewire the security systems to detect when other beings then our comrades come in. We don't want to be caught unaware." The ambulance said in the normal language. That meant that the sports car mech was the beeper.

She was proven correct when the bot beeped, "Ratchet, should I go and find Raf?"

Aquablast assumed that the medic was Ratchet but she was now curious about who this 'Raf' bot was.

"Rafael should be returning any moment Bumblebee. If he is not back in five clicks, you may go look for him."

She now was sure that the sports car mech was Bumblebee and the ambulance was Ratchet. But, this Raf, or Rafael, bot was still a mystery.

Turning around, Aquablast was about to go search for this bot when a high pitched male voice asked, "Who are you?"

All Aquablast could do was stare. How had this tiny organic snuck up on her? She was about to answer the young male when she felt a scan go through her. The alarms suddenly blared and Aquablast heard the sound of pedes coming toward the hall past the room. Her first reaction was to transform one of her servos into a blaster and pick up the organic, as collateral, in her left servo, and aimed her blaster at the door.

A nano-click later, both mechs ran out and glanced at her before aiming their blasters at her.

"Raf, are you ok?" The one she identified as Bumblebee asked.

"I'm fine 'Bee, I think." The organic in her servo stated.

So, he was Raf, well, Rafael.

"Let Rafael go femme." Ratchet demanded.

Aquablast met his look before saying, "Only if you promise not to shoot me and if you all listen to what I have to say."

The two mechs kept their gazes on her and Ratchet nodded before saying, "We agree. Now, let Rafael go."

Aqua nodded before slowly going down on one knee before placing her servo on the ground and opening it up. Raf hopped out before running beside Bumblebee.

Aquablast then stood up and said, "I am deactivating my blaster." She then transformed her blaster back into her servo before looking back at the mechs.

"What are you doing here?" Bumblebee asked.

But, Aquablast wanted them all to introduce themselves so she asked, "Could you tell me your names? I feel uncomfortable talking to bots that are nameless to me."

"Who are you?" Ratchet asked in a grumpy voice.

"I asked first." Aquablast retorted right back.

The two of them stared off again before Ratchet pointed to each of them in turn while saying, "This is Bumblebee, our scout; Rafael, one of the humans we care for who has a knack for computers; and I am Ratchet, our medic. Now, who are you and how did you find us?"

Aqua pointed to herself before saying, "My name is Aquablast and I am a scout for the Dragon Scouters. My team split up to find any signs of friends."

"Wait, you're a Scouter?" Ratchet asked in shock.

"Yes I am. Now, don't interrupt me because I didn't interrupt you." Aqua retorted. Ratchet nodded so Aquablast continued. "Finding you was pretty simple. Especially with a driverless ambulance on your aft out in the middle of nowhere."

Ratchet looked shocked at that before asking, "You were that blue car?"

Aqua nodded before saying, "Yes, and you need to keep off the horn."

Rafael then walked a little closer before asking, "What is a Dragon Scouter?"

Aquablast was surprised about that question and asked, "You mean the Autobots told you about the war and didn't mention us?" She then looked at Ratchet and asked, "You told him about the 'Cons and Virons at least, right?"

"I know about the 'Cons but who are the Virons?" Raf answered her with a question.

"You mean you told him about the 'Cons and not the Virons? At least the 'Cons keep their prisoners, who they aren't questioning, healthy!" She vented at Ratchet and Bumblebee before turning to Raf and saying, "Besides the Autobots, and Decepticons, there were two other factions fighting on Cybertron. One was the Dragon Scouters, my team, and the other was the Virons. The Virons believe in everything that the 'Cons do but they are more cruel and vicious then the Decepticons by a hundred fold. They actually aren't Decepticons only because they believe that Megatron is too weak of a leader."

"They think that Megatron is weak?" Raf asked in shock.

Aqua nodded slowly and said, "Yeah." She then continued. "The Dragon Scouters, my team, are closer to the Autobots. Our leader and founder, Pandimala, didn't like the council and agreed that they needed to be removed. She actually almost joined the Decepticons but when their honor shifted and it showed hints of what it is like today, she refused to join either side and started the Dragon Scouters with her mech friend, who would end up being her bondmate, and nine of their friends, and their bondmates. We are closer to the Autobots and even help them because, even though we never like the council, we believe that all sentient beings have the right to live. Plus, now that the war has lasted as long as it has, all of us, especially the higher command, are glad that we never joined the 'Cons and we always try to help Autobots."

Ratchet then asked, "You said that your team had split up to find friends. Where are they?"

"Well, our second in command is on our ship just in case one of us three needed backup, the leader of our team went to investigate a ship's crash site to see if they could find anybot. I was sent out to find any bots who may have survived and see if they needed help. Of course, I found you three."

"What about your fourth member?" Bumblebee asked.

"Our medic went to investigate the wreckage of your base." Aqua didn't miss the worried look that Ratchet had when she said that but stored it away for a later talk. At that moment, they had to talk about how to repair the ship that they were in.

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Nox was on high alert when she transformed near the ship's wreckage. She had no idea how long it had been since the ship had gone down and she didn't have a clue if there were enemies still around.

When she and her twin had first joined the Dragon Scouters, they had to learn to be on guard very quickly. They had been on a practice patrol with two other bots, who were loners. One was a maroon with light brown lines triple changer mech who had a jet and tank mode. His name was Psychopomp. The other was a white car mech with gray lines running across his door panels and he had a red cross that started at the middle top of his helm, ran across his helm above his optics in both directions, and went down to right above his mouth. His name was Templar.

Her twin, Psychopomp, and she had become lax and were talking away. The three of them were not prepared for a Viron sniper firing on them. Templar throwing her out of the way was the only reason that she was still online the four of them forced their attackers to retreat and then the three fliers took the injured Templar to the nearest Dragon Scouter med center. Nox didn't leave Templar's side until the mech woke up. Once he did, Nox thanked him greatly and asked him to help her train to become better.

And she was using that training now as she examined the wreckage of the ship. It seemed as if the ship had been hit with at least one missile and that hit had caused other weapons on board to detonate, causing serious damage to the back half of the ship. Nox then hopped onto the top of the wreckage to see if she could find anything. Even if there were just remains, Nox knew that she needed to find something to prove that there was at least one other bot around. Also, if the bot was somehow still online, Nox knew that the bot would need immediate medical attention and, while she knew some basic field repairs, she would be able to heal the injuries that she was imagining the bot to have.

A sound of pedesteps entering her hearing caused Nox to take cover underneath some of the wreckage. Glancing out, Nox was surprised to see Decepticon drones arrive on the scene. A Decepticon must have shot the ship down and now the drones were searching for the bot, or bots, that were involved in the crash.

"Frag, why did the 'Cons have to come now." Nox muttered to herself. The closed in area of her hiding space was starting to make her nervous. Like most fliers, she ahd a small fear of closed in spaces.

"Hey, there's something over here."

Nox paused when she heard the voice say that. Judging from its volume, the owner of the voice was very closer. Careful not to disturb the wreckage covering her, Nox turned and watched as the drones pulled a white mech with red and green markings. Even though the mech was damaged, Nox was surprised that he was still online. That kind of explosion would normally offline bots.

"It's the Autobot that Starscream said we would find." A different drone commented.

Nox knew that she had to do something. She couldn't let the mech fall into enemy servos. But, she wasn't sure what she should do. She was obviously outnumbered and she knew that she couldn't waste time waiting for Equio to arrive but she also couldn't let the Autobot fall into the clutches of whatever 'cons were on this planet.

"Let's get this scum back to Darkmount so Commander Starscream can interrogate him on the location of the rest of the Autobots."

Nox knew that she had to stop them so she charged out of her hiding spot and started to fire. She got about three steps before she felt something hit her helm and her world went dark.

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**Nox: Well, this certainly is fun...not.**

**Authoress: What, I think it is awesome!**

**Aquablast: Yes, and I think that you need to have your brain checked.**

**Equio: Yes, I do not think that it is all there.**

**Authoress: HEY!**

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**AN: Well, here is a story I have had written up for a while and I finally decided to post. My drawings of the new OCs can be seen on my deviant art account (same user name) but I will warn you now that I am not the best at drawing. Oh, and the next chapter is already underway. Also, Equio's and Nox's optic color will be explained next chapter, as well as Whiteout's. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	2. History Lesson

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Aquablast: Ok, so what is happening, exactly.**

**Authoress: I don't know. Want to get some energon?**

**Ratchet: How can you think of energon at a time like this? There are so many other things to be worrying about then your appetite.**

**Authoress: No, because if I am not fed, I am not happy.**

**Raf: But, you can't eat energon because you are human.**

**Authoress: *silence***

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Ch. 2: History Lesson

As Whiteout scanned the leader of the Autobots, he couldn't get over the fact that the leader was so badly damaged. The injuries were extensive and Whiteout was surprised that Optimus wasn't already in the Well.

"What happened to him?" Whiteout asked Smokescreen.

Smokescreen sighed before saying, "When we went to Cybertron, last, we went with a mission. The Decepticons had taken the four Omega Keys to Cybertron to revive the planet and name the Autobots as the bad guys. We couldn't let that happen so we ambushed them using the Iaconian relics that were in our possession to take them. We soon arrived at the Omega Lock and were about to insert the keys when the Decepticons showed up. They used our human friends as barter for the Keys and Megatron activated the Lock. He restored one building before turning the beam's power on a space bridge and to Earth. To save the Earth and the humans, who inhabit it, Optimus used the Star Saber to destroy the Lock. We then fled back to our base. But, the 'Cons had discovered our location so Optimus sent us to different locations. He stayed to destroy the coordinates he sent us to. But, as he destroyed it, the 'Cons used a blast to destroy the base."

Whiteout nodded and continued to work. But, as he worked, something occurred to him. "If Optimus sent you all away, how come you are here?"

"Well, it didn't feel right leaving Optimus here so I, borrowed, the phase shifter and ran back through just as the base was lit up."

The two of them then went quiet as a groan came from Optimus. The two conscious mechs then watched as the leader onlined his optics.

"Smokescreen," Optimus started but Smokescreen interrupted.

"I couldn't find any medical supplies but I did find some help."

Optimus then turned his gaze to Whiteout and asked, "Who are you?"

Whiteout gave the leader a comforting smile before saying, "I am Whiteout and I am a medic for the Dragon Scouters. Smokescreen has allowed me to try and help get you fixed up." Whiteout felt slightly nervous when he and Optimus continued to stare at each other. But, through this nervous feeling, Whiteout could see that Optimus was extremely exhausted, even after just waking up, and so he said, "Optimus, I am going to put a sedative in you. You need your rest."

The leader nodded so Whiteout took a sedative out of his store and injected the leader with it.

"How long will he be out?" Smokescreen asked.

"About four cycles at least. He is exhausted and I am surprised he even woke up." Whiteout answered. He then continued his work repairing Optimus. Since Optimus was out for a while, Whiteout began work on the leader's helm.

"Why did you become a Dragon Scouter? Why not join the Autobots?"

Whiteout jumped when Smokescreen suddenly asked that. He had forgotten that the Autobot was even there.

Continuing his work, Whiteout said, "Well, I lived in a small outlet community of Polyhex that we called Coldice, though it officially had no name. I lived alone but I tried to be out in the community as much as possible. Bots would also come to me regularly because I was a cheap medic that was good at my trade. When we were attacked, I tried to save as many bots as I could but I was eventually captured by the 'Cons. At first they pretty much left me alone in my cell and it wasn't so bad. But then, at the end of my time in their captivity, they took me into a lab and strapped me onto a table. The 'doctor', then injected a strange glowing purple energon inside of me. About a click later, the door to the lab was blown off and I saw two Cybertronians walk inside; one a flyer and the other a grounder. The 'doctor' retreated and the two bots came closer. I was afraid that was another trick so, when my servos were released, I started swinging. My first hit landed and I heard a feminine yelp before I went unconscious."

"Wait, what does this have to do with my questions?" Smokescreen interrupted.

Whiteout sighed and said, "I'm getting to that. Now, when I woke up, I found myself restrained again but the room was much more peaceful. I then heard a door open and I turned to see an emergency response femme walk in. The first thing that I noticed was that the femme had a dent on her faceplate. I asked her why I was restrained and she said bluntly that she didn't want another dent in her faceplate. She then told me that she had gotten most of the strange energon out of my systems but that it had changed my optic color. Instead of the neon blue that they were, they were now the purple that you see. The medic then said that her name was Balm and she was a Dragon Scouter. When I asked what the Scouters were, she told me and then asked for my designation. I told her and asked to join."

A beeping coming from the monitor he had on Optimus had him turning to the Prime. When the Prime's chestplate opened, Whiteout said, "We are losing him!"

But, when he turned to Smokescreen, he was surprised to see the white mech dragging a very big hammer toward Optimus. "Is that,"

Whiteout started to ask when Smokescreen nodded and said, "The Forge of Solus Prime. Optimus said not to use it on him but we still need him here."

Whiteout nodded in understanding and watched as Smokescreen dropped the hammer into the Prime's open servo. What he didn't expect was the large blast that flung him back against the cave wall.

* * *

Ratchet stared at the femme in front of him with a studying glance. She was sitting against the wall of the room, seemingly in a deep recharge. He was still upset that he had allowed himself to become noticed as being something else other than an ambulance. Luckily, the bot was an ally, or so she said. He still had some distrust toward the femme. She had tracked him back to their base and had not been afraid to use Rafael as a hostage when the tables were turned.

"You know that staring like that could be considered rude to some bots."

Ratchet jumped when Aquablast suddenly said that. He had thought the femme was in recharge. "Did you have a nice recharge?" He asked back. Since Raf and Bumblebee had gone on patrol, he knew that the femme was talking to him.

"I wasn't in recharge. My mentor taught me how to make it appear that I am in recharge." Aquablast answered, her yellow optics boring into him.

"Why?" Ratchet asked, now curious about why they would use that technique.

"He taught it to me because bots are normally more honest when they are talking around somebot that is in recharge. Now," She answered before asking, "What do you want to know? I can tell by how you are standing that you are wondering about something."

Ratchet was surprised about her ability to see that. There was one thing he had been wondering, though, he wasn't sure that he wanted the answer But, he asked anyways. "Why did you choose to become a Dragon Scouter?"

With how she had been acting, Ratchet couldn't tell why she chose the Dragon Scouters over the Autobots.

Aquablast's chuckle brought his attention to her as she said, "Well, the funny thing is, I was an Autobot. I even went through Elite Guard training. But, on my way in one solar cycle, I was probably on the outskirts of Iacon at the time, I was attacked. I activated my emergency beacon to tell them that I was injured but nobot came. About four cycles later, I fell into stasis lock. When I woke up, I found myself in a strange med bay and I saw a medic femme cleaning up. I asked her what happened and she said that a bot named Zarron found me while he was on patrol and called in for help. I then asked her where Zarron was and she said that he was in a training room and gave me directions. When I got to where he was, he asked me what happened. I told him about everything and how nobot answered my alert. He then told me that their intelligence agent had picked up on the alert and he had sent Zarron out, the trip taking him about four cycles. He then asked my name and faction loyalty. I told him my name but I told him I was an Autobot, before I was abandoned, but I was sure I didn't want to be an Autobot anymore. He then told me about the Scouters and I asked to join. Before I was evacuated, I was put on this team and now I am here."

Ratchet was surprised at her story. She had been an Autobot, trained in the Elite Guard, and was left to offline. The Autobots that she knew had abandoned her, left her for scrap, and none had responded to her call for help. Yet, the Dragon Scouters had gone four cycles to investigate one emergency beacon that may have been a trap, to make sure that the injured bot was ok.

She then glanced at Ratchet and asked, "Did you ever have any apprentices Ratchet?"

Ratchet was surprised at her question but nodded and said, "Yes, though they were few; four in fact. Two of them are still online as far as I know. One has lost his way and is a Decepticon, his name is Knockout, and the other was heading to the far reaches of space the last time I saw him. His name is Red Alert. The other two, two femmes, were killed during the fighting on Cybertron." He didn't like to talk much about his past apprentices because he had formed such a strong connection with them, like a creator, before they went their separate ways, or were offlined.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ratchet." Aquablast stated seriously.

The two of them then stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence that made Ratchet want to yell something when he heard the sound of an engine approaching. "Seems as if Bumblebee and Raf are back." Ratchet muttered. He then watched as Aquablast stood up and leaned against the wall. Now that he had talked with the femme a bit, he was actually finding that she was more trustworthy then he thought.

"What did you find?" Ratchet asked Bumblebee after he let Raf out and had transformed.

"We couldn't find a thing." Bumblebee stated.

"Yeah, there wasn't a sign of the 'Bots anywhere." Raf added.

"Well, let's keep trying to find something." Aquablast stated encouragingly.

Ratchet looked at the femme and nodded. He knew that they needed to find more of their allies if they were to stand a chance against the Decepticon fortress. And, hopefully, the Dragon Scouters that were here on Earth could help them. He only hoped that he was placing his trust in the right place.

* * *

Wheeljack groggily lifted his helm and said, "Don't stop now. I was just beginning to enjoy myself." He had come out of stasis about thirty clicks ago and Starscream had been sure to fill that time with torturing him for the location of the other Autobots.

"Believe me Wheeljack; there is more where that came from. And you will tell me the location of your compatriots..." Starscream stated.

Wheeljack then groaned in pain as 'Screamer dragged a very sharp, two pronged tool across his chestplate. Not causing energon to leak but still hurting like the pit.

"…no matter what it takes; or how long." Starscream continued on.

Wheeljack was annoyed by this question. He had already told 'Scream the answer to that. "Like I told you, they weren't expecting me. They never bothered to fill me in. So go ahead," Starscream turned when he said that and so he continued. "knock yourself out."

Starscream's smirk was the only thing that confused him. Well, that was, until he said in a comm. link, "Good, bring the other prisoner in here."

Wait, other prisoner? He had been the only Autobot nearby as far as he knew. "What are you talking about Starscream? I was the only Autobot nearby."

He was shocked when Starscream nodded with a smirk and said in his superior tone way, "Yes, you were the only _Autobot_ nearby. But we caught something else in our search for you."

Wheeljack was worried that 'Scream had managed to capture one of the humans. But, with the way said Decepticreep said 'Autobot', Wheeljack tossed that idea out. He would have said that they caught one of them if they did. So, now Wheeljack was left to wonder just who the 'Cons caught, if they even caught anybot. The doors opening caused the Wrecker to glance up.

"Ah, just hang her up over there next to the Wrecker." Starscream stated.

First off, Wheeljack was surprised that Starscream had managed to arrange the capture of another bot. But, as he looked closer at the femme unconscious in between the two drones carrying her, he saw something that caused his optics to widen in shock.

"A Dragon Scouter! They haven't been seen since," Wheeljack started.

But, Starscream interrupted him. "The fall of Cybertron. We found her at the wreckage of your ship and we were all curious as to why this femme showed up. But, since she does not look like she will be waking up for some time, we will leave her here to be a puzzle for you to figure out." Starscream then left.

Wheeljack waited a few clicks after 'Scream left to study the femme. She had minimal damage and those looked like they had been healed.

"Is he gone?"

Wheeljack jumped when the femme said that. But, what was even stranger was that she had not onlined her optics yet, even though she was obviously awake.

"Yeah, and I haven't seen any security cameras in here." Wheeljack answered her.

"Good. I don't want the 'Cons to know just what kind of bot they have in their possession." The femme said.

"What do you mean?" Wheeljack asked the femme. She was really starting to make him curious about why she was so worried. But, a small hum of the femme's systems told him that she was probably onlining her optics now.

"You're a seer!" Wheeljack stated in shock. The femme's optics were a pure white color. White optics were extremely rare on Cybertron. There hadn't actually been a Cybertronian, in their records, who had white optics since the beginning of the golden age. Having white optics allowed her to see past the disguises of the shape shifters, like the Decepticon that had impersonated him. Also, though this was just a rumor, it was said that they could tell when bots were lying to them. But he wasn't sure on that one.

"Yeah, I'm a seer." The femme stated, as if he was just asking if she was one.

"Why are you here?" Wheeljack questioned. The Dragon Scouters hadn't been seen since the fall and now this femme was there in one of their darkest hours.

"Well, we tracked a strange energy signature and we ended up flying here to this planet and past the ruins of the Autobot base and your crash site. My team split up and I was sent to see if anybot had survived the crash. Luckily, you did. But, the 'Cons found you first and, when I tried to fight them, they knocked me out." The flyer answered. She then asked, "How did you crash? And who are you?"

"The name's Wheeljack and I was fighting the 'Cons in the air when Starscream shot a missle at my ship. Next thing I know, I'm here." Wheeljack answered. He then studied her and asked, "What's your name? And where are your other teammates?" She had mentioned them and now he wanted to know where they were.

The femme sighed and said, "I'm Nox and there are three other bots on my team. One of them, our medic who is a white car mech named Whiteout, is searching the ruins of the Autobot base for survivors. Aquablast, a blue car femme who is our scout, is out looking for any allies. And our final one, Equio, my second in command who is my twin brother, is with our ship and is ready to come out if any of us needs backup."

Wheeljack stared at her in shock before saying, "Wait, he's your _twin_ brother? Does that mean he is a seer too?"

Nox nodded and seemed like she was going to answer when they heard the door open. Wheeljack then watched as she dimmed her optics enough so their color couldn't be seen but he could guess that she could still see out of them.

"What do you want drone?" Wheeljack asked the bot. The drone seemed to be alone and that was what made him suspicious.

But, Wheeljack flinched in surprise as Nox quickly onlined her optics to their full power and smiled in overjoyed shock.

"What are you doing here?" Nox asked the drone like she knew him.

Wheeljack looked at her in confusion before asking, "What do you mean? He is a drone. How do you know a drone?" This femme was just full of surprises.

Nox shook her helm and said, "No, he is not. I'm a seer, remember? This is one of our spies who so happens to double as a medic." Wheeljack was shocked when the metal around the 'drone' then shifted until a black and dark blue car mech with sharp red optics appeared in his place. "Wheeljack, allow me to introduce you to Nightshade."

* * *

**Wheeljack: Ok, where have the Dragon Scouters been? No one had heard from them since the fall of Cybertron.**

**Authoress: Well, there were issues.**

**Wheeljack: What issues?**

**Nox: You'll find out Wheeljack. Just be patient.**

**Wheeljack: *sarcastically* Great. Just what I always wanted to do. *sits with a grumble***

* * *

**AN: Well, here is chapter two. We got to see more of the background. And yes, I know that the order of events is off from the episodes but I think that the events might not have happened simultaneously so I am playing around with that. Also, we should (though I am not promising anything) have Nox and Wheeljack escape. Nightshade was fun to make. He has Soundwave's stealth but Knockout's personality. Just remember that for next chapter. Also, we will hear of another bot who is nearby that Nox knows but we probably won't see the bot. I will post my drawing of Nightshade on my deviantart account sometime tonight. Remember, I'm not the best artist but it is the best that I can do and I have to say that I am kind of proud of how Nightshade turned out. Also, hopefully, the next chapter will be out sooner. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


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